Taylor Swift Donates $5 Million Toward Hurricane Relief Efforts

FILE - Taylor Swift performs at Wembley Stadium as part of her Eras Tour June 21, 2024, in London. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP, File)

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19:09-10 October 2024 AD ـ 07 Rabi’ Al-Thani 1446 AH

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19:09-10 October 2024 AD ـ 07 Rabi’ Al-Thani 1446 AH

Taylor Swift Donates $5 Million Toward Hurricane Relief Efforts

FILE - Taylor Swift performs at Wembley Stadium as part of her Eras Tour June 21, 2024, in London. (Photo by Scott A Garfitt/Invision/AP, File)

Taylor Swift has donated $5 million to Feeding America to support relief efforts in the aftermath of Hurricanes Helene and Milton, The Associated Press reported.
The nonprofit announced the pop star's donation Wednesday with a “Thank You” graphic resembling a friendship bracelet, a favorite accessory that Swift's fans trade at her concerts.
Feeding America is “incredibly grateful” for the donation, CEO Claire Babineaux-Fontenot said in a statement.
“This contribution will help communities rebuild and recover, providing essential food, clean water, and supplies to people affected by these devastating storms," the statement continued. “Together, we can make a real impact in supporting families as they navigate the challenges ahead.”
The organization also encouraged fans and supporters to “join Taylor” in contributing to relief efforts.
Swift's longtime friends, actors Blake Lively and Ryan Reynolds, also donated $1 million to Feeding America to support the hurricane relief efforts. Babineaux-Fontenot said in a statement that the couple's “longtime support of Feeding America in times of crisis” has helped provide basic needs for several past natural disasters.
Swift has a long history of donating to nonprofits in the wake of natural disasters or tragic events, including a tornado that hit Tennessee in 2020 and a shooting in February 2024 at the Kansas City Chiefs’ Super Bowl victory parade.
Her philanthropic relationship with food banks became a quiet hallmark of her record-breaking Eras Tour, with the singer donating the equivalent of hundreds of thousands of meals to different food banks across cities she played in.

Entertainment

In Their 80s, These South Korean Women Learned Reading and Rap

Park Jeom-sun, 82, leader of Suni and the Seven Princesses, adjusts her hat in a mirror during the opening ceremony of the Korean alphabet, "Hangeul Week" at Gwanghwamun square in Seoul, South Korea, Friday, Oct. 4, 2024. (AP Photo/Lee Jin-man)

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In Their 80s, These South Korean Women Learned Reading and Rap

Wearing an oversized bucket hat, silver chains and a black Miu Miu shirt, 82-year-old Park Jeom-sun gesticulates, her voice rising and falling with staccato lines about growing chili peppers, cucumbers and eggplants.
Park, nicknamed Suni, was flanked by seven longtime friends who repeated her moves and her lines. Together, they're Suni and the Seven Princesses, South Korea 's latest octogenarian sensation. With an average age of 85, they're probably the oldest rap group in the country, The Associated Press said.
Born at a time when women were often marginalized in education, Park and her friends were among a group of older adults learning how to read and write the Korean alphabet, hangeul, at a community center in their farming village in South Korea’s rural southeast.
They were having so much fun that they started dabbling with poetry. They began writing and performing rap in summer last year.
Suni and the Seven Princesses enjoy nationwide fame, appearing in commercials and going viral on social media. South Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo sent them a congratulatory message last month on their first anniversary, praising their passion for learning.
At a road near their community center in Chilgok on Thursday, Park and her friends were rehearsing for a performance Friday evening in the capital, Seoul, where they were invited to open an event celebrating hangeul heritage.
“Picking chili peppers at the pepper field, picking cucumbers at the cucumber field, picking eggplants at the eggplant field, picking zucchini at the zucchini field!” the group rapped along with Park. "We’re back home now and it feels so good!”
Park said the group usually practices two or three times a week, more if they're preparing for a show.
On Friday, hundreds of people applauded and cheered, and then the group lined up for a photo with South Korean Culture Minister Yu In Chon.
Park talked about the joy of learning to read, saying she can now “go to the bank, ride the bus and go anywhere” she wants without someone helping her.
“During and after the Korean War, I couldn’t study because of the social atmosphere, but I started learning hangeul in 2016,” Park said, referring to the devastating war between North and South Korea from 1950 to 1953. “Being introduced to rap while learning hangeul has made me feel better, and I thought it would help me stay healthy and avoid dementia.”
Kang Hye-eun, Park’s 29-year-old granddaughter and a local healthcare worker who helps older adults, said she was proud to see her grandmother on television and in viral videos.
“It’s amazing that she got to know hangeul like this and has started to rap,” she said.

Taylor Swift Donates $5 Million Toward Hurricane Relief Efforts

Taylor Swift Donates $5 Million Toward Hurricane Relief Efforts

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In Their 80s, These South Korean Women Learned Reading and Rap

In Their 80s, These South Korean Women Learned Reading and Rap

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